Novelist Helen Grant is the latest client of the John Jarrold Literary Agency. Her new novel is Purslane the Witch.
“Love is forever, so they say. I hope to hell they’re wrong. When love comes looking for me, it’s always time to leave town.”
Purslane is a freelance witch, though she doesn’t like to use that word. Escaping from a persistent suitor (the result of an ill-advised spell) she takes a job in Cheselborne Percy, a quaint little English village with a marauding night monster problem. This means investigating disappearing teenagers, a stolen grimoire, duplicitous locals, and gruesome attacks, while trying not to ruin her vintage silk devoré dress. There is the added complication of the vicar, who projects his thoughts (some relating to Purslane) in a very disconcerting way. Beleaguered by a ravening creature, malevolent magic and inconvenient emotions, Purslane vows that if she’s going to be torn to pieces and eaten alive, she’s going to do it in Louis heels…
Purslane is potentially the first novel in a series, although it works as a standalone. It’s perfect for readers of T. Kingfisher’s A House With Good Bones or The Hollow Places. The tone of voice is wry and confidential and there is some genuine nastiness, but not full-on gore. The peculiarities of the English setting of Purslane also contribute to the story in the same way the North Carolina setting does in the T. Kingfisher novels.
Helen has been a published novelist since 2009, with nine novels, a novella, three story collections and over 50 short stories published, and her writing has won the following awards, and been shortlisted for many more:
Too Near The Dead won the Dracula Society’s Children of the Night Award 2021.
The Beach House (short fiction) won the Jimmy Perez Trophy 2015 at Shetland Noir.
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden (US edition) won an ALA Alex Award 2010.
“ I loved Helen’s voice from the first page,” said John Jarrold. “The characters, setting and the feel of the story are outstanding – and there’s more than a touch of romance. Also wit, something I adore in an author. I immediately thought of T Kingfisher’s Sworn Soldier series, which is a great favourite of mine.”
Ian Whates at Newcon Press has acquired World English rights in the debut fantasy novel THE CRAFTER’S WIFE, by Dani Raanan, which will appeal to fans of SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik and THE SNOW SONG by Sally Gardner. It is inspired by the rich mythology of her Jewish culture. The agent was John Jarrold.
24-year-old Shosha is married off by her witch-hunter father and a magic-fearing king to a man she knows by reputation only: the mysterious, arrogant Crafter. Long suspected of conducting illicit magical arts, the Crafter has many secrets the king wishes to employ. Shosha is tasked with uncovering these secrets, for she has a talent of her own: the ability to ‘sense’ magic – its flavour, its scent, its essence. If she fails, her family will surely face the block – but her success will come at the cost of her husband, whose head will hang from the palace gates. She and the Crafter begin a life of deception, a game of cat-and-mouse, each fighting for survival at the expense of the other and – against their wills – gradually getting to know each other. All the while watched by the Crafter’s animated collection of humanoids: his living, breathing army of golems.
THE CRAFTER’S WIFE is a standalone novel that encompasses the author’s love of science with her fascination with magic and Jewish mythology – primarily, with golems. Dani works as a Research Integrity Manager for a scientific publisher and lives under the tyrannical rule of a large cat in Leeds with her husband and two children.
John Jarrold said: “I’m so delighted for Dani. The wit, imagination and wonderful characters drew me in immediately, as did the truly outstanding feel for setting. There’s peril, romance and dark dealings. And the use of magic here fascinates me.”
Ian Whates said: “A refreshingly different take on fantasy, combining familiar elements with the less familiar, all seasoned with fresh perspective. Add to that the quality of the writing, which belies the fact that this is the author’s debut novel, and you have a winner.”
Transworld’s Simon Taylor has pre-emptively acquired two novels from bestselling novelist Jon Courtenay Grimwood. The agent was John Jarrold.
The first novel is Thrones and Powers . . .
On 30 May 1431, Joan of Arc – the Maid of Orleans, whose visions of the archangel Michael inspired her to lead the French against the English during the Hundred Years War – was burned at the stake as a heretic. She was just 19 years old.
Looking on in despair was a young French noble called Gilles de Rais – the only one of the Maid’s followers not to have deserted and disowned her. In the aftermath of Joan’s execution, Gilles is betrayed and condemned to immortality for his part in supposedly turning the Maid against Heaven’s purpose. Centuries later, he now lives quietly in Mexico City as the historian (his speciality is medieval France) Professor Don Gil de Ray, with a retired Yucatec terrorist as his housekeeper and guardian. Then in New York, on his way back to his hotel following a talk he’d given, he is brutally attacked. His assailant is an angel, demanding his obedience to a command from Heaven. And Heaven wants him to discover what has happened to God. But Heaven is a place Don Gil has denied and turned his back on for what it had allowed to happen to Joan . . .
He refuses, obviously. He has no interest in God, alive or dead. He doesn’t want access to Heaven, or to all of time (except perhaps to follow Joan through her future incarnations, to try – again and again, and to fail – to save her soul). After all he is Gilles de Rais, vilified over the centuries by those who would have history believe he was a monster, the original Bluebeard, so why would he – why should he – bend to Heaven’s will?
But then Lucifer makes him an offer: an offer it would be dangerous – for Earth (about which he cares little) and for the very few people he loves, and loves fiercely – to refuse . . .
The second book will be an as-yet untitled historical fantasy.
Jon Courtenay Grimwood was born in Malta and christened in the upturned bell of a ship. He grew up in the Far East, Britain and Scandinavia. Apart from novels he has written for magazines and newspapers. For five years he wrote a monthly review column for the Guardian. He has also written for The Times, Telegraph and the Independent.Felaheen, the third of his novels featuring Ashraf Bey, a half-Berber detective, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. As did The End of the World Blues, about a British sniper on the run from Iraq and running an Irish bar in Tokyo. His novels have been shortlisted for numerous other awards including the Arthur C Clarke Award, the British Fantasy Award and the John W Campbell Memorial Award.
Moskva, his first crime novel, written as Jack Grimwood, was published Spring 2016. An Amazon Top 10 bestseller, it was listed for the Crime Writers Association’s Steel Dagger/Ian Fleming Award.
Nightfall Berlin, the second Tom Fox novel, was published Spring 2018. The Times called it, ‘A superb creation.’ The Observer called it, ‘Spring’s best thriller.’
Island Reich, his third Jack Grimwood novel, was published Spring 2021. The Financial Times called it ‘Triumphant’. Glasgow Life said ‘Jack Grimwood matches Robert Harris, Joseph Kanon, Ken Follett and John le Carré thrill for thrill…’
Arctic Sun, the third Tom Fox novel, was published Autumn 2023. It was The Times’ Thriller of the Month: ‘Strange alliances, personal vendettas and Cold War conspiracies build to a bloody climax in the snow’. The Independent said, ‘Your new favourite thriller writer’.
The Last Banquet, his literary novel written as Jonathan Grimwood, was published by Canongate in Summer 2013; the French edition was shortlisted, in 2015, for Le Prix Montesquieu.
His work is published in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Estonian and American, among others.
He is married to the journalist and novelist Sam Baker. They live in Edinburgh.
Jon Courtenay Grimwood said, ‘I’m absolutely thrilled to be with Simon Taylor at Transworld, and deeply impressed John Jarrold tied up a deal this swiftly; leaving me to get on with writing. Thrones is a book that really matters to me, and I find it hard to say how delighted I am.’
‘Simon was in touch within hours of seeing the press release about Jon joining the literary agency,’ said John Jarrold. ‘We were happy to agree an exclusive look at Thrones and Power for him and Transworld after a conversation, and I’m delighted it has led to a wonderful deal for two books.’
Simon Taylor said ‘Genre-defying, boundary-pushing, ideas-filled and hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck-raisingly-exciting, Thrones and Powers is – IMHO – the novel of a writer at the peak of his powers. I’ve long been a fan of Jon’s work and am over-the-moon to be publishing this bold and brilliant novel.’
Many congratulations to agency client Neil Williamson who has won the BSFA Award for Best Collection, for the anthology BLOOD IN THE BRICKS (the Award covers both collections and anthologies), edited for and published by Newcon Press. The Awards were presented at the annual Easter Science Fiction Convention this weekend, which took place in the Hilton Metropole hotel at Birmingham airport.
Novelist Jon Courtenay Grimwood has joined the John Jarrold Literary Agency for representation of his forthcoming historical fantasy novels.
The first novel, which will soon be submitted to publishers, is Thrones and Powers. Here are the author’s thoughts:
‘Some books take longer to get right than others! Twenty years ago I wrote a sprawling 200,000+ word time slip novel about Joan of Arc and Gil de Rais. A publisher offered. My then agent suggested the timing was wrong, and it became for me the one that got away.
‘An edit to 170,000 words, and then a less successful one to 140,000 words followed. I knew the story I wanted to tell was in there. I just didn’t know how to get it out. And then, last year, following a series of thrillers, a childhood memoir, and a PhD at St Andrews, I decided that Joan and Gil had haunted me for long enough…
‘I went right back to the beginning, cut away everything that wasn’t essential, lost all that lovely (but indulgent) medieval research, and ended up with the far, far shorter book I should have written in the first place.
‘In it remain the battles, the magic, the time-slip love affairs, the war in heaven, the great fire of London, and the families we make for ourselves to replace the ones in which we’ve never really fitted.
‘(And I’m absolutely delighted to be working with John Jarrold again. He was my editor at Simon and Schuster, and someone whose taste I trust.)’
There are also three synopses for future historical fantasies to discuss with publishers.
Jon Courtenay Grimwood was born in Malta and christened in the upturned bell of a ship. He grew up in the Far East, Britain and Scandinavia. Apart from novels he writes for magazines and newspapers. For five years he wrote a monthly review column for The Guardian. He has also written for The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent. Felaheen, the third of his novels featuring Ashraf Bey, a half-Berber detective, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. As did The End of the World Blues, about a British sniper on the run from Iraq and running an Irish bar in Tokyo. His novels have been shortlisted for numerous other awards including the Arthur C Clarke Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the John W Campbell Memorial Award.
Moskva, his first crime novel, written as Jack Grimwood, was published in Spring 2016. An Amazon Top 10 bestseller, it was listed for the Crime Writers Association’s Steel Dagger/Ian Fleming Award.
Nightfall Berlin, the second Tom Fox novel, was published Spring 2018. The Times called it, ‘A superb creation.’ The Observer called it, ‘Spring’s best thriller.’
Island Reich, his third Jack Grimwood novel, was published Spring 2021 The Financial Times called it ‘Triumphant’. Glasgow Life said ‘’Jack Grimwood matches Robert Harris, Joseph Kanon, Ken Follett and John le Carré thrill for thrill…’
Arctic Sun, the third Tom Fox novel, was published Autumn 2023. It was The Times Thriller of the Month: ‘Strange alliances, personal vendettas and Cold War conspiracies build to a bloody climax in the snow’. The Independent said, ‘Your new favourite thriller writer’.
The Last Banquet, his literary novel written as Jonathan Grimwood, was published by Canongate in Summer 2013 and shortlisted, in 2015, in the French edition for Le Prix Montesquieu.
The Fallen Blade, the first of three novels set in an alternate 15th-century Venice was published Spring 2011 and went into ten languages in twelve territories. The Outcast Blade, its sequel, was published in Spring 2012. The final volume of the Assassini novels, The Exiled Blade, was published Spring 2013.
His work is published in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Estonian and American, among others.
He is married to the journalist and novelist Sam Baker. They live in Edinburgh.
John Jarrold said: ‘I have counted Jon as a friend for over twenty-five years. He’s one of the best writers I ever published, and I’m privileged to be working with him again –Thrones and Powers is a remarkable, fascinating novel, and the synopses he’s sent me for future projects made me grin widely (and want to read them NOW)!’
